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Pennsylvania's Millennium Legacy Trail:The Pittsburgh-Harrisburg Mainline Canal Greenway Introduction |
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| Recreation
and Conservation Grant (C2P2) funds the Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Greenway
Initiative
Altoona, PA - Governor Ridge's recent announcement of more than $30 million in recreation and conservation grants across Pennsylvania will have a major regional impact. $150,000 in state funding will be provided for the planning and development efforts of the Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Mainline Canal Greenway, a community and watershed stewardship project managed by the non-profit Allegheny Ridge Corporation (ARCorp). Said Jane Sheffield, Executive Director for the Allegheny Ridge Corporation Sheffield, "Greenways are important tools for community development. Open space, vibrant downtown areas, and healthy watersheds are not luxuries; they are vital components of our region's economic infrastructure. This greenway project is fundamentally a grassroots approach to rural economic development." The state grant of $150,000 for this greenway project is being provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR). The state investment will leverage additional support from the Southwest PA Heritage Preservation Commission (SPHPC), and the project also has the support of the National Park Service. Sheffield added, "This DCNR grant, and the additional support of SPHPC and the National Park Service, will enable us to move forward with this innovative and exciting project." The Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Mainline Canal Greenway is a growing network of locally managed community and environmental stewardship initiatives within the 260-mile-long segment of the former PA Mainline Canal route between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. This network will consist of land- and water-trails, community parks and open spaces, preserved canal and other historic remnants, local museums and cultural attractions, and downtown amenities such as shops and restaurants. Approximately two miles wide, the Greenway corridor follows the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg upstream to the mouth of the Juniata River, and continues upstream to the Juniata headwaters atop the Allegheny Ridge. The Greenway enters the Allegheny Watershed at the headwaters of the Kiski-Conemaugh Basin and continues downstream through Johnstown to Freeport, where it follows the Allegheny River to Pittsburgh. The state grant, coupled with SPHPC matching funds,
will enable the Allegheny Ridge Corporation to conduct a public, grassroots
process which will define the future of this greenway project while
strengthening inter-municipal cooperation on recreation projects, fostering
"Smart Growth" alternatives to sprawl, enhancing watershed
stewardship objectives, and encouraging rural economic development.
The Allegheny Ridge Corporation (ARCorp) is a private,
non-profit corporation that develops, interprets and preserves the historic
and cultural resources of the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area in central/western
PA. ARCorp participates in the statewide Heritage Parks Program administered
by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
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